


Teach It How You Know It (Life's a puzzle, we gotta find our matching piece.)

by SkylentBlue



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-03
Updated: 2013-08-13
Packaged: 2017-12-13 19:40:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/828090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylentBlue/pseuds/SkylentBlue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Louis is a drama teacher and Harry is the student.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

"Now, for homework…" The class groaned. Louis chuckled and rolled his eyes at his class.

"Guys, it's Drama class, the easiest subject you can ever get. Your homework is…" He looked around the room, surveying his students until they fell on a figure hunched over, drooling over his desk.

Harry Styles.

Louis chuckled, the class followed his glance and giggled at the boy. Louis walked over to Harry's desk and stood in front of it. He cleared his throat. 

Harry didn’t even stir.

Once again he cleared his throat, a little louder.

Nothing.

Louis was loosing his patience. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, thinking of ways to wake up the boy. He decided, why not have a little fun? He ran his hand through Harry's full head of curls, massaging his scalp while doing so. This made Harry at least stir. He did it once more putting a little more pressure. This not only made Harry shift in his seat, but made him make a, not very appropriate, pornographic moan slip from his lips. This had the class burst out laughing and Harry shook awake by the burst of noise. He looked around and saw Louis' figure smirking. Harry wiped the drool from the side of his mouth.

"Have a good nap, Mr. Styles?" Louis teases. The younger rolled his eyes.

"Very good one, thanks to you and your lesson about stage directions." He quipped. Louis was not impressed. He gave him a crooked smile and raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Well, if you ENJOY my lessons SO MUCH, I'm sure you wouldn't mind staying after the bell today, would you?" He asked. 

"I would be honored to do so, Louis." Harry smirked. Louis rolled his eyes, and dismissed the fact that Harry had used his first name. As he went back to his desk, the bell rang.

"No homework, you lucky bastards." He said as everybody filed out of his classroom with a laugh. He sighed as he went back to his desk putting his stuff in his backpack.

"So…" Harry started.

"Mr. Styles. It’s Friday, we both know you don’t want to be here, and neither do I. Why can't you just behave in my class? I'm not THAT boring, besides, I teach DRAMA. The easiest subject. Ever. Why are you failing it?" Louis lectured. Harry stayed silent, looking… ashamed? No, it couldn't be. Harry was… Harry. 

"You're right." He finally said, catching Louis off guard. 

"W-wh-what?" Louis stuttered. Harry smirked in response, knowing he had surprised his teacher.

"I haven't been trying, at all. Which is probably why I'm failing your class. In my defense, I'm shit at acting. A dead cat can act alive better than I can." Harry stated, giving Louis a half-heartedly smile. Louis chuckled at Harry's comment.

"Harry, that's what I'm here for. If you need help with anything, anything at all. You can come to me." Louis said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Harry smiled a beautiful dimpled smile that made Louis' stomach flutter.

Wait…

Flutter?

FLUTTER!?

Get your shit together Tomlinson.

It wasn't Louis's fault. Harry never, and he means NEVER smiled in class. He's always asleep, and the closest thing to smile he's ever given Louis is a smirk. A lazy one at that, and he can't see his dimples… which sucks.

Wait… what? What is up with him today?

Louis sighed and looked at Harry, then at the clock, then at Harry, then at the clock, then at Harry, then at the… well, you get the picture. He sighed once more.

"Listen, now that I know what your problem is, why don't you leave? We can work some kind of schedule for Drama tutoring. I can help you with your monologue on Monday, yeh?" Louis asked. Harry smiled a full on dazzling dimpled smile.

"Yes, that would be perfect. Thank you so so so so so so so much Mr. Tomlinson! Bye, have a good weekend!" Harry exclaimed. He then surprised Louis by giving him a hug. Louis was shocked, he didn't know what to do. It then registered that he should hug back, but before he could, Harry let him go and ran out the door. 

Louis sighed feeling cold. Cold? Why cold? He was just fine a second ago. Louis shrugged, gathered his belonging as exited his classroom. As he walked down the empty hallway, he couldn't help but being a little creeped out. I mean, it was Friday, no one stayed behind on Friday. He himself was usually the first one gone. He made it to his Porsche. It was his prized possession, and took him a while to save up for it, but it was worth it. As he got in his car, it started raining. Just a little drizzle.

Then thunder rolled in.

Then the rain got stronger. 

As he pulled out of his parking space, the rain seems like it was cracking his windshield. He pulled out of the school, just wanting to go home, watch some TV with Niall and Zayn, have a hot cup of tea, and go to bed. As this relaxing image was going through his head, he, for some weird reason, kept thinking of Harry. He had seen a different side of Harry a few minutes ago, and he… liked it.

Now that he's thinking of it, he also saw that Harry's eyes were green. A beautiful bright and shiny green. He also saw that his hair was curly. Well, of course it was curly, but like, really curly, like his hair was so DEFINED, and it felt just as soft as it looked. He just wanted to run his fingers through it again… 

Woa… those are really pedophile thoughts. Louis shook his head, trying to clear away any inappropriate thoughts about his really handsome student that could cause a problem in his pants…

Louis decided it would be a good idea to concentrate on the road. As his focus returned to where it should be, he saw a figure walking along the sidewalk. As he got closer, he saw that it was a tall, slightly muscular male. Ha, that sounded science-y. He was also carrying a backpack that looked a lot like Harry's. 

"Oh my God!" Louis hit the breaks. Stopping his car immediately in front of Harry. Harry lifted his head and his eyes widened as he saw there was a car parked next to him. He was looking back and forth between the car and the sidewalk ahead, wondering if he should run. 

Louis stepped out of his car, walking towards Harry, who was frozen in place. When Louis was a foot away, he finally relaxed, realizing it was Louis. 

"WHY ARE YOU WALKING IN THE RAIN?!?!" Louis exclaimed. It was the only way he could assure the boy could hear him. 

"I HAD TO. I DIDN'T HAVE A PHONE TO CALL MY MUM TO PICK ME UP!!!" Harry yelled back. Louis nodded, now shivering because he was in the rain. In January. Meaning it was cold. He looked at Harry. He was also shivering, but he was worse off, because he didn't have a jumper like Louis. He was wearing black skinny jeans with a white t-shirt… 

Oh, God.

White T-Shirt.

It was raining.

Meaning it was now transparent.

Louis realized this, and couldn't stop staring at his revealed torso.

He had tattoos… a lot of them.

He had a slight six-pack.

Ha was just… gorgeous.

Oh, God, there it is. The 'Problem' Louis was trying to avoid. And he was wearing skinny jeans, making it more obvious. He had to get home, but he couldn't leave Harry in the rain.

"GET IN!" Louis yelled motioning his to his car. Harry followed and got in. Once they were both inside, Harry fixed his curls, running a hand through them, then pushing them to the side. Louis just stared while he was doing this.

Harry noticed Louis was staring and smirked. He made a show of fixing his hair making sure he flexed every possible muscle. He then cleared his throat snapping Louis out of his thoughts and looked at him.

A flustered Louis shifted in his seat, turning on the car and driving.

"So, where am I taking you?" Louis asked.

"Just turn at the corner right here and drive until the third street. Mine is the third house to the right." Harry said pointing. Louis nodded. 

Just then Louis phone went off. "Cause AAAAAAALLLLLLL I NEEEEEEED IS A BEAUTY AND A BEEEEAAAATTTTTTT WHO CAN MAKE MY LIFE COMPLEEEEAAATTTTTEEEEEE" Beauty and a Beat by Justin Bieber was the only sound in the car. That, my friends, was Niall's ringtone…

"Bloody hell…" Louis said fumbling for his phone while Harry laughed his ass off.

"Really Mr. Tomlinson? Justin Bieber? Really?" Harry said through his laugh.

"Sush it Harold, my best mate is IN LOVE with him." Louis said blushing scarlet.

Harry quieted down while Louis answered his phone. Indeed, it was the Irish lad.

"Hey, are you coming home?" He asked.

"Yeah, I need to go somewhere first, so I'll be there a little later that usual."

"Where you going?"

"Umm, I need to drop off someone first." As soon as he said that, he came to a red light and dropped his phone. Harry caught it, pressing the speaker button in the process.

"Oh, alright is it that dude that keeps coming around here? That big one that keeps on asking for you?"

"Umm, no."

"Oh, then that dude you were seeing came back. What’s his face… George? Gregory? Gary…"

"Not now Niall, gotta go." Louis said ending the call. There was an awkward tension in the car. Maybe it’s because Niall just pulled him out of the closet in front of his student.

"Umm, we're - we're here." Louis stated as he parked in front of Harry's house. His voice cracked a little. Harry looked straight on, then turned to look sideways at his teacher. He nodded.

"Thanks Mr. T. See ya in class." He said giving him a half smile and walked out of the car.

Louis stayed parked an unnecessarily large amount of time. Did Harry feel awkward that his Drama teacher was Gay? He drove off seeming more cold and alone that usual. Unaware if the curly headed and green eyed boy looking form his upstairs bedroom. Wondering why the older lad looked so broken and confused, thinking maybe they are not so different after all.


	2. Missing Puzzle Piece

Louis had been confused up to the age of sixteen. He had been questioning his sexuality since age 10 when he saw a boy naked and he liked it.

Then he met Eleanor. She was the perfect girl for him. She was nice, sweet, quirky, funny, and attractive. They seemed like they were made for each other. They were best friends. It was no shock to anyone when they started dating.

Then one night, exactly six months before his 17th birthday it happened. They were both drunk and they didn't use protection.

Two weeks later, Eleanor told him he was going to be a father.

His parents were disappointed, but they supported him in whatever they did.

They considered giving the baby up for adoption, but when the time came, neither of them could give him away.

They had a baby boy. They named him Thomas, or Tommy. He was the spitting image of Louis. Crystal blue eyes, the delicate features f his face, his cheekbones, and not to mention his personality and fashion sense. It was quite adorable.

He felt a little weird when people on the street would stop him and Eleanor on the street to tell him how cute Tommy was and would think he was Louis's brother. It was awkward having to explain they were parents, and would result in the stranger feeling awkward for asking or shaking their head in shame and walking away.

They both continued their lives as normal as they could and that meant going to UNI. Louis was top of his class and was often put in the spotlight for being a father and going to school. Eleanor on the other hand couldn't handle being a mom and going to school, so she did what she thought was the right thing to do and left Tommy and Louis.

Louis was disappointed and relieved. He couldn't quite explain his emotions. Maybe it was his time to be free and raise Tommy on his own. Eleanor wasn't quite good at it anyways. Louis had much more experience having helped him mom raise his four younger sisters as compared to Eleanor being an only child and not having experience with kids. Louis did everything but feed him, for a while. As soon as Tommy was two months old Eleanor stopped breast feeding him and Louis started feeding him the milk from baby bottles.

So they were better off alone, and he didn't want to keep living under Calder residence. Yeah, they were living with HER parents too. He had some money left so he bought a flat/condo thingy, quite big actually, and lived with two of his buddies from UNI, Niall and Zayn. Well, Zayn didn't live there, though he might as well be doing, the bloke's there 24/7.

He graduated when he was 20 and Tommy was 4.

Now he was a 21 year-old drama teacher, out of the closet and Tommy was 5 years old.

So life was good.  He lived with his best mate and his other best mate was always over and life was amazingly good.

So, now as he parked his car outside his complex and went up the stairs because the elevator never worked he was glowing. Not because he was thinking of his underage curly haired student. No, definitely not.  Well, maybe a little… he was really thinking of seeing Tommy once again. He just recently going to preschool, and Tommy was a little ball of energy, quite a lot like his father at that age.

"Daddy!" he hears a squeal as he unlocked the door and walked in. Tommy was on the floor drawing and Niall was watching TV with, surprise, Zayn.

"Hey, Tommy! How was school?" he said as his son ran into his arms. He picked him and spun him around.

"Daddy, I can't tell you if you don't put me down!" he squealed.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over your laughter." Louis retorted.

"Put. Me. Down." He said through giggles.

"Fine." Louis sighed feigning sadness. Tommy breathed heavily trying to catch his breath.

"Are you OK? Can you speak now?" Louis crouched down to his level.

"I missed you!" Tommy exclaimed and wrapped his arms around his father. Louis hugged back.

"Well, look who's home." Niall was at the entrance of the hallway into the living area. Cradling a bowl of chips.

"Hey , mate." Louis answered.

"Look what I drew at school dad!" Tommy grabbed his hand and dragged him to the coffee table in the middle of the room. Zayn was staring at the TV.

As Louis sat down besides Tommy, he shoved a colorful piece of paper in his face. Louis took it in his hands and looked at it. There were four figures. A tall one, with a black quiff dressed in a black t-shirt and boots. The next one was a slightly smaller one with blonde hair and dressed in a tank top and really baggy pants carrying a guitar. The third one was way smaller that the other two, and was wearing a striped shirt and red pants with a caramel brown fringe. The last one was a smaller figure hugging the red pants one's leg. 

"What's this?" He asked.

"That's Uncle Zayn, see? He's got the hair! Then it's Uncle Niall, cause he's got the guitar! Then that’s you daddy! And that's me!" Louis looks fondly and Tommy with watery eyes. He looked up and Zayn and Niall had the same, proud expression.

"Do you like it?" He asked. Louis smiled and nodded 

"I do, it’s beautiful, baby." He whispered, his voice cracking a little bit. Tommy didn't seem to notice and he ran to his room. He stood up, drawing still in hand, and backed up to the wall and slid down to the floor. Niall and Zayn came over and sat down next to him.

Louis brought his knees up to his chest, and putting the picture on his lap. He stared at the image. Tommy had talent for a five year old.

"When I picked him up from school he looked sad. I asked him why, and he said that he had to draw a picture of his family. He drew this." Zayn picked up the drawing. "When he presented to the class, they teased  him saying that that wasn’t a family because he didn't have a mum." Zayn explained.

"Huh, I used to be teased for being gay, now my kid's getting teased for not having a mum, what is wrong with kids."

"Well, I think he did and excellent job. He really got my hair and guitar down." Said Niall. Louis smiled.

"And he got Zayn's hair defying gravity correct too." Louis added.

"Well, I look damn good in this picture. Actually we all do. Kid's got talent, you should exploit him for money." Zayn said. Louis smacked him.

"I was kidding, but seriously man, he's got talent, and you don’t make a lot of money being a teacher."

"I make the perfect amount to pay for my half of the rent, but Tommy clothes, buy food which you eat, and pay for internet, cable, and electricity. Plus I have some left over, that just so happens t go to Tommy's college fund. 

"I stand corrected." Zayn said. "By the way, today's Friday. How come you were late today?"

"Umm,  had to drop someone off…"

"Who?" Niall asked.

"Umm… this guy."

"Do we know him?" Zayn asked.

"No."

"Well, I don’t think you should shag him until you brought him around to meet us. Remember when that guy-"

"Oh my god, Niall! I'm not shagging anybody! I just took Harry home because he didn't have a ride and it was pouring outside!" Louis exclaimed.

"Harry. That name sounds familiar." Zayn thought out loud.

"Yeah, isn't he that kid that's always sleeping in your class?"

"Yes." Louis sighed, defeated.

"Louis, you do know he's underage-"

"Guys, I'm not dating the kid! I took him home, once! I am not stupid enough to be in some sort of relationship with him other that strictly teacher/student! God, I'm not some depraved pedophile manther. "

"Manther?" Niall laughed.

"What in the hell is that?" Zayn  asked amused.

"It's the male equal of a cougar." Louis said.

 

It was silent for a while, then Zayn and Niall burst out laughing.

"Oh, Louis. Only you would think of something like that." Zayn said fondly.

"Wait, so that term isn't used?" Louis asked confused.

"It was never a term in the first place, mate." Niall said.

Louis laughed in spite of him self.

"Well lads, I'll be heading off to bed. I promised Tommy to take him on a daddy/son date tomorrow bright and early." Louis said standing up.

"Yeah, I better go, Perrie's probably waiting for me. Bye guys, g'night." Zayn waved and left.

"Well then, Good night, see ya tomorrow morning then. Pancake Saturday?" Niall asked hopefully.

"Pancake Saturday." Louis stated. Niall cheered and left for his room. Louis, picture still in hand, walked to the kitchen. He looked at the picture once more.

Family. They were a family. But, he didn't feel compete. His family was missing something. Or someone. His mind flashed curly hair, dimpled smile, and shiny green eyes. He shook the thoughts away. 

 

_I will not me a manther._

 

He sighed and put the picture up in the fridge with some family photos of his mom with his sisters. He missed his family, but now that he had his own, he was a little more busy than usual.

His family was not complete, and a few blocks away, a curly haired lad was awake thinking the exact same thing. More like a puzzle piece that isn't where it belongs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the official first chapter of TIHYNI. Sorry, had to abbreviate it.. :) I really think I'm going to enjoy writing this, and hopefully I finish it by the end of summer. Please tell me if you liked it or not, and I need feedback to see if people are actually liking it. Thanks for reading, loves!


	3. True Friends Lie Underneath...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets injured and past events are uncovered...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long. I didn't think a lot of people were interested in it, I guess I was wrong. Thanks for reading and I guess sticking with it despite the long wait for updates. I hope you like this chapter.
> 
> This chapter is a little longer than usual. It has Harry's background and answers some questions you might not have known you had. I don't want to give a lot away but I guess it could be triggering? It contains slightly explicit content and IDK read at your own risk... 
> 
> I just decided to name the chapters with lyrics or song titles that are somehow related to the chapter. The reason for the title it's because it explains how Liam and Harry's friendship got, I guess, put to the test and IDK I don't want to give anything away.
> 
> Song: With Ears to See and Eyes to Heat by Sleeping With Sirens

"Wake up! Come on Dad!"

"Yeah, you promised us pancakes!"

"I'm up! I'm up!" Louis was awakened by the jumping of Niall and Tommy on his bed like every Saturday. Louis woke up with a smile to see the enthusiastic faces of Tommy (because of the fun filled day ahead of them) and Niall (because of the pancakes). He didn't even know why he was always excited because of the pancakes. He didn't even make them.

Louis can't cook… at all. What he can make, isn't very good, but Tommy keeps quiet and compliments him and gives him a 'You Tried' smiled. He wished he could say the same for Zayn and Niall.

They go to the restaurant in to corner of their block. It has "The best pancakes in the world!" according to Niall, though Louis highly doubts Niall traveled around the world eating pancakes, but they're good, and it's a break for him. Last time he tried making pancakes, ended in a call to the fire department by his neighbors because he left the stove unattended and left with Tommy to the corner store. Niall wasn't home, and Zayn sleeps through anything, so he didn't even stir until a firefighter knocked the door down and put out the fire.

So, that's how they ended up going into the cozy little shop every Saturday. It became sort of a ritual for them, somewhere to enjoy good food, and be happy with delicious pancakes.

As they entered the little shop, they noticed Zayn was already there, but no Perrie. 

"Where's Perrie?" Tommy asked.

"Hey guys! She couldn't come today, she left for the states with her band. She'll be back in two months." Perrie had a band with three of her best friends. They were really good, like really, really good. No wonder they went to the states. They were probably going to get signed over there.

"Cool! Is she going to eat a hot dog?" Tommy asked.

"I'm pretty sure she's already eaten a hot dog…" Niall said. Louis slapped him on his shoulder for his pervy comment.

"What do you mean Tommy?" Louis asked. Zayn smiled at Tommy's innocence and Niall smirked at his innuendo.

"Well, I have a friend in school, and he's from America, and he said that the hot dogs there are WAY better than the ones here." He said.

"Well, if she doesn't, I'll tell her to eat one in your honor." Zayn said. Tommy cheered and sat down.

"So, the usual, lads?" Louis asked as they all took their seat. Nods around the table.

Their normal waitress, Danielle came over and smiled at them.

"Morning guys, how life?" She asked, knowing just about everything about them.

"Perrie's left for the states for two months." Zayn said, a little down.

"Aww, sorry to hear that. Wish her the best from me, and I'm sure she misses you just as you miss her." She said with a dazzling smile. Zayn smiled, looking happier.

"I'm top of my class, and they want to promote me to first grade, skipping pre-school and kinder garden!" Tommy exclaimed.

"That's awesome Tommy! I'm sure you'll graduate top 5 of your class, just like your father." She winked.

"Well, Uni's going good, and my job at Starbucks is going pretty well." Niall said.

"I'll have to remember to stop by more often." She smiled. She then looked at Louis, who seemed to be looking at the window behind Niall.

"Something wrong, Louis?" Zayn asked.

"Huh? Nah, no, I.. Was just- nothing. I though I saw someone-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm SUPER hungry." Tommy said.

"Ok, then, the usual?" Danielle asked. Everyone nodded.

Louis went back to staring at the window. He swore that he saw Harry a few second ago. He was staring into the shop, looking at them, but when he looked again, he was gone. It was probably just Louis being paranoid.

\--

"Come on Harry! Wake up!" Liam had given up on waking up Harry gently years ago. It always started with shaking him gently. Then shoving him. Then, when he didn't wake up, he took his duvet off of him and repeatedly hit him with his pillow. That seemed a much better way to wake him up. That is what he was currently doing.

"Liam! It's SATURDAY! Why are you waking me up?" He mumbled.

"I'm taking you for a run." He said, opening Harry's drawers and taking out his workout clothes.

"Liam! I'm sleepy! No! How did you even get in?" Harry asked, now sitting up in his bed.

"Your mum let me in when she left for work." Liam said throwing him a pair of boxers, which landed on top of Harry's face.

"Man, you need to do your laundry-" Liam said scrunching his nose. "It stinks in here." Harry sniffs the boxers.

"How did you know these weren't dirty?" He asked.

"I didn't." Liam said smirking. Harry rolled his eyes shaking his head. He got up and put on his boxers, Liam still looking for the grey jumper that Harry always wears when he goes to the gym. Harry was walking around the room, in only his boxers, looking for sweat pants.

"Here it is." Liam said finding the jumper under a pile of shirts and a half eaten sandwich. He threw it over his shoulder, landing next to Harry on top of his alarm clock. When Harry picked it up, he noticed the time.

"LIAM! IT'S 6:30! I DON'T EVEN WAKE UP AT THIS TIME FOR SCHOOL!" Harry exclaimed. Liam turned around glaring at him.

"That explains why you're always late. When you run, it's better to do it in the morning. You should know that. Now hurry up, put on the jumper, and help me look for your sweat pants." Liam ordered. Harry sighed and did what he was told. The next five minutes were spent looking for his sweat pants, which were found by Harry on the ceiling lamp.

"How did they even get up there?!?" Liam asked.

"I don't know." Harry mumbled putting them on. He looked in the mirror, and sighed at the sight of his untamed curls. He reached for a green beanie, and shoved it on.

"Ready?" Liam asked. Harry nodded grabbing his white converse.

\--

"I can't do it anymore, Liam!" Harry huffed stopping. Liam slowed down and jogged back to where Harry was catching his breath. "We ran to the end of your street, and you live three houses in! How can you be tired already?"

Harry straightened up and put his hands on his waist.

"Besides, you were on the footie team, how can you not run down a street. You used to run four miles everyday!" Liam said, now next to Harry.

"It's been a while." Harry said. Liam patted his back. "I know mate." He said. They stayed quiet for a second. The unspoken words floating in the air between the two. Memories flashing into their heads, wishing past events hadn't happened.

"Ready?" Harry asked, surprising Liam, who was already giving up and ready to go back to Harry's house to cook up some breakfast.

"Yeah, mate." He smiled, and they both took off, a little slower, and ran off.

\--

As the running boys were passing by a small restaurant in the corner of the street, not far from Harry's house, Harry tripped on air and came tumbling down.

"Oof!" Harry said as he landed on his face. Liam, already rounding the corner, didn’t notice. As he picked himself up, he caught the smell of deliciousness.

"Hey, Harry! You wanna have breakfast in here? I think it's enough torturing you for today." Liam smiled and he came back. "Yeah, I think that woul-" Harry stopped in mid sentence. He looked in through the window, catching sight of his drama teacher.

Louis Tomlinson. Blue eyes, brown caramel, sometimes in a fringe, others in a quiff. Always wears colorful skinny jeans in which his ass looks amazing. Not to mention, four years older than him. But Harry couldn't have these thoughts about his teacher. HIS TEACHER! For God's sake!

He noticed that he wasn't alone. Louis was with three other people. A blonde boy laughing a lot and loud. He could hear him all the way out here. Then there was another boy, a little darker in skin tone, covered in tattoos, and a black quiff. Then there was also a small boy. Around 5 or 6 yeas old. He looked a lot like Louis. More like exactly like Louis. He had the exact same hair with a fringe, and he was smiling, looking up at the blonde haired boy. He was too far away, but he bet that if he were to look into the boy's eyes, he would see the bits of green, gold, and silver in his eyes, just like Louis'.

Not that Harry notices these things. He just… hears the girls in his class talk about the "hot drama teacher." And Harry definitely does not think that the drama teacher is hot. Or that he is the most beautiful thing Harry has ever seen. Or that he is literally sex on legs. Or that he gets lost in his eyes every time he looks at him, and that's why he's spacing out in class. Or that every time he falls asleep, he dreams about him and his beautiful smooth voice. Not that Harry does or thinks about does things…

And now that he's really looking… Louis has tattoos! He has some on his arm and he can barely see a chest tattoo. He doesn't exactly know what they are, but he can see them. He knows he has some tattoos on the front of his ankles that say "The Rouge". He noticed them a few weeks ago when they peeked out. He didn't mention it to him or anyone else really, it was like his secret that he kept to himself. Is that weird?

"Harry? Are you okay, mate?" Harry turned towards Liam, who was in the corner about to walk in the view of the window, just as Mr. Tomlinson was looking this way. "Liam, duck!" Harry said and he dropped to the floor with Liam as soon as he caught sight of blue.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are we on the floor?"

"Umm, cause I'm not hungry?"

"Why do we need to be on the floor so you can tell me your not hungry?"

"Harry, what's wrong?" Harry sighed heavily. He never could lie to Liam.

"Umm… Lou- I mean, Mr. Tomlinson's in there. " He said. Liam gave him a confused look.

"Our drama teacher?" he asked. Harry nodded. Liam slowly started getting up and peeked in the window as he saw the teacher with two other boys and a small kid.

"Oh, why are you hiding then?"

"I- don't know." Harry said. Why was he hiding? He had nothing to hide, and it's not like he was on bad terms with his teacher. From what he could gather, yesterday they were good, but then the awkward conversation in the car when his friend kind of pulled him out of the closet happened. He remembered he stood parked outside a little longer than he needed to. Harry watched him look worried. Maybe he was worried that Harry wouldn't want to be his student, or felt weird being one. Maybe he thought Harry didn't want his help anymore because he was gay? It would be kind of hypocritical of him to do so when he himself is gay. But he didn't know that, and not that Harry would tell him.

He never did anything to say he was gay, but he never did anything to say he was straight either. He has turned down girls when they got brave and asked him out. But he never gave them a reason. And apparently that makes him mysterious, hot,  too-good for you, and sexily-unattainable. He just goes with what people say about him, and they'll figure it out by themselves. Right now everybody but Liam is clueless in school.

"So, I'm guessing no breakfast in here then?" Liam shook him from his thoughts.

"Yeah, no. How about we go back to mine and make something?" He said. Liam nodded. "Let's go."

Just as they were passing by the front door, it opened and a blonde haired boy came out, but not before the door slammed into Liam.

"Oh, fuck! I'm sorry mate! Fuck. Fuck. Shit. I didn't see you there!" he cried in an Irish accent. "No worries, it was my fault." Liam said from the floor. Harry had helped him up when he heard an all too familiar voice.

"Niall, what happ-Liam?" Louis said. Harry looked up, green met blue, he lost his balance and fell to the floor.

"Harry!" Liam and Louis cried at the same time. "You know them?" the blonde - apparently Niall- asked.

"Yeah, they're my students." Louis grunted as he and Liam helped Harry up. "I'm OK. I'm alright. I'm fine, see?" He said as he stood up straight almost falling again as Louis caught him.

"I think I twisted my ankle." He said. He looked up and Louis looked concerned. His eyes were so blue and he felt like he was drowning in them. They were hypnotizing, and he looked like he could just jump in and find out his darkest secrets. Like they were the doors to his soul.

Louis felt that same fluttering in his stomach from the day before. What WAS that. He probably ate too many pancakes. His eyes were caught up in green, he felt like fainting. He had to look away. He had too. He was running out of oxygen and he could feel Harry slipping from his arms. Wait, his arms. Harry was in his arms. Oh, there goes the last of his oxygen.

Thankfully Liam chose that moment to come in and help Louis and took Harry from his arms and stood him up against the wall. Harry caught hold of himself and stood straight not stepping on his left ankle.

"Thanks." He said to Louis and Liam. They nodded. "Well, how are you gonna walk now?" Liam asked. Harry shrugged, doing the math on how far away his house was.

"Is there a problem? I thought you were gonna go get the car?" Zayn said coming out the door with a small child. Harry remembered him as the boy who looked a lot like Louis. Who was he? Maybe his little brother.

"Oh, yeah. But what happened was-" Louis began explaining, but was interrupted by Niall.

"I kinda opened the door and slammed into-" "Liam." Liam said filling in when Niall hesitated. "Liam, and then _Harry_ here fell down and twisted his ankle." Niall finished. He put a little extra emphasis on 'Harry' and Louis didn't fail to notice that.  Zayn's eyes widened and looked Harry up and down who was too busy rubbing his ankle. Then he looked over at Louis and gave a nod of approval. Louis facepalmed and Niall tried stifling a laugh. All three of the boys not noticing Liam saw the whole thing.

Louis cleared his throat. "So, I think the least we can do is take you guys home." he said.

"But, how will we all fit?" Harry asked lamely, not really wanting to share another car ride with his drama teacher.

"Niall and Zayn were just leaving anyways." He said. Niall and Zayn instantly nodding. The little boy went over to stand next to Louis and hid behind his legs.

Mini-Louis tugged his shirt catching Louis' attention. He looked down and the boy motioned him closer. Louis crouched down and the little boy cupped his ear and whispered something.

Harry couldn't help but smile at the two. They looked exactly the same, and they're even wearing the same clothing right now. Grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt, except the little boy has a hoodie on and Louis is carrying his.

Harry turned to look at Liam, who was too busy looking at Niall. Niall was talking to Zayn (Zack?) and laughing at something. Zayn (?) said something to Niall and he looked over to Liam. Liam got caught staring and looked away blushing. Harry looked towards Zen (Zeke?) and Niall and saw that Niall was hiding his face behind Zackary (he realizes it's not that long but he knows it's something with a Z) but his neck was red.

They looked down at the conversation going on between Louis and Mini-Louis. Louis looked up and glared at Zack and Niall who was almost back to his regular color. He looked down and started talking in a hushed tone.

\--

"Daddy, Zayn and Niall said he was your new boyfriend. Is that true?" Tommy whispered into Louis' ear once he got his father's attention. Louis looked up to glare at Zayn and Niall (who was blushing?). They looked at him and waved innocently. A little too innocent. He looked over to Liam and Harry who seemed to be having their own conversation. Liam looking a little red. What?

"Uh, no. Tommy no. Harry is not my boyfriend. He's one of my students. Liam too. But you know what. I think Uncle Niall likes Liam. Don't you think they would look cute together?" He said. Two can play at this game. They both looked up and saw that Liam and Niall were looking at each other and blushing again. Tommy giggled and nodded.

"So, are we taking Harry and Liam home?" he asked. Louis nodded. "Is that okay?" Louis asked. He didn’t want to ruin the Tommy/Daddy day they had planned. It's been a while since they've had one. Louis kept changing the date because he had grades due and Tommy was a good sport about it.

"Yeah. We don't want to have Harry lose a leg." He said. Louis chuckled thinking it was a joke, but it faded as soon as he saw the serious and grave look on Tommy face.

"Of course. Shall we go, then?" Tommy nodded.

Louis stood up to go talk to Zayn and Niall, probably to tell them that he was going to go drop Harry and Liam off. But, Tommy saw something. Something he hasn't seen in a while. Since his dad dated the Stan guy. _He was really mean_ , Tommy thought. _He would always hit me and Daddy, but I bet Harry's not like that. He seems nice._

Harry looked down and saw Tommy staring at him. He smiled and so did Tommy.

_Yeah, he's nice. I wonder if he likes the Power Rangers like me and my daddy._

~~~~~~~~

"You're staring." Harry whispered into Liam's ear.

"Shut up." He hissed. Harry chuckled. "He seems to like you too." Harry continued.

"I told you to sh- you think so?" He asked. Harry just chuckled. "I recommend you stop having eyes sex and go talk to him." Harry inquired.

"Well yeah, but look! Mr. Tomlinson is going over to them. Can't now." Liam laughed nervously. Harry rolled his eyes looked down towards Mini-Louis. He saw him already staring at him. Harry smiled wide. The kid smiled back. He seemed nice. Next thing Mini-Louis was talking to him.

"Hi. My name is Tommy." Mini-Louis- err- Tommy says. He puts out a hand to shake. Harry smiles, amused, and shakes his hand. "Nice to meet you Tommy, I'm Harry, and this is Liam." He said introducing them. Tommy looked at Liam questioningly.

He crossed his arms and walked around them both. Eyeing Liam up and down, then stroking a fake beard. He did the same to Harry. They looked over to where Louis was standing with Zayn and Niall, and saw that they were looking at him too. Suddenly Tommy smiled and turned to them and gave them a thumbs up. What?

Harry didn't have time to question Tommy's actions before he was asking him questions.

"Do you like the Power Rangers? I like the Power Rangers, and so does my daddy. He says he's the red one because that's his favorite color. Uncle Niall says he's the green one because he's Irish, and Uncle Zayn doesn't want to be one because he say's it'll flatten out his quiff, but if he had to choose, he would be the blue one. Which one would you be?"

Harry stared at him for a while. He likes to talk, and he was really adorable. He was about to answer when he realized that he called Zayn and Niall his uncles.

"Zayn and Niall are your uncles?" He asked. He nodded. "Yeah. See, that's my uncle Niall, the blonde one. The one with the really tall hair is my Uncle Zayn, and that's my daddy. But you knew that. Uncle Zayn says you are his students." He beams.

It then dawns on him, Tommy is Mr. Tomlinson's son. He never mentioned his son! Well, he guess he didn’t really need to tell his students. What he wants to keep to himself is his business, but other teachers say that on their first day. Their marital status, their age, and how many kids they have. He did say his age, but everything else he kept personal. And looking at Tommy, he was 5 or 6 years old, meaning Louis had to have been quite young to have a kid.

"Well, this is a really important question. I've never really been asked this before. Hmm, Liam. Tell him your favorite Power Ranger. I gotta think this through." Harry said, pretending to think. In reality, he already had one, but he wanted to amuse Tommy.

"Well, I like the yellow one." Liam answered. "I have decided I like the pink one. It takes a true man to wear pink. I think it's the manliest color." Harry declared. Tommy giggled, covering his mouth with both his hands. He goes over to Liam and motions for him to crouch down.

"Do you think he knows that the pink ranger is a girl. He whispers just loud enough for Harry to hear. Liam chuckles. "I don't think so." He stage whispers back.

"What has the world come to when a man can't be a pink ranger? I believe that all Power Rangers are created equal and not discriminated upon because or gender and/or color." Harry says.  Liam and Tommy look towards each other, then to Harry, and then they're laughing. Tommy is literally rolling of the floor laughing. Harry looks proud because, yeah, I did that. I made my drama teacher's son laugh, and that is a good enough reason.

He looks over to where Louis is standing with Niall and Zayn (finally he gets it right!) and sees that Louis is looking fondly at Tommy, who is still rofl-ing. Their eyes meet, blueblue on greengreen. They make eye contact for exactly 15 seconds, he counted, and Louis looks away his cheeks tinting a little red. What? It's probably from the cold.

\--

"Why did you tell that to Tommy!" Louis slaps Niall and Zayn on the shoulder, glaring up at them (It's times like these that he curses his short genes).

"Tell what to Tommy?" Niall asks innocently. "That Harry is my boyfriend!" Louis whisper-shouts. "Oh, that!" Niall looks at Zayn, and he just shrugs.

"Lou, it's kinda obvious how you feel about Harry." Zayn says, as it's something Louis should know. "How I feel about Harry? I've told you guys, he's my STUDENT it's kind of illegal to date him, even if he wasn't underage WHICH HE IS! He is my student, I am his teacher, any chance of anything happening between us is impossible, never going to happen." Louis rants.

"Alright, we're sorry. But one thing, who are you trying to convince? Because it sounds like you don't believe yourself." Zayn said.

He was right. He was repeating it in his head like a mantra.

**He is my student. I don't like him. He is underage. This is illegal. He is my student. I don't like him. He is underage. This is illegal.**

But even after his rant to Niall and Zayn, he still didn't believe himself 100%

He can't like Harry. He has no reason to. Sure, the kid is not bad to look at… his eyes, his smile, his hair, his-everything.

That's it! He doesn't like Harry. He's just attracted to him. That happens all the time, right? He is pretty young, and Harry may be underage, but he's not far behind Louis, so it's not illegal illegal.  Right? He can be attracted to Harry, his student.

Oh, God! He's going to jail. He's going to jail and then to hell because he's attracted to a minor.

He looks over at Tommy, who is turned towards them, giving them at thumbs up. What? Oh.

"Why did he just give us a thumbs up?" Niall asked.

"Well, you told him I liked Harry, so I decided to tell him you liked Liam…" Louis said smugly. Niall instantly became a red and stuttering mess.

"Wh-what? I-I-I don't like hi-him." He spilled out, hiding behind Zayn once again. Zayn high-fived Louis and Niall groaned.

"I don't! I don't even know him!" Niall mumbled, still behind Zayn. "Oh, there, there you. Niall, you have good taste. Liam is super sweet and very patient, so he's literally perfect for you!" Louis cooed.

"Really? Wait- are you actually telling me to go hit on one of your students?" Niall asked, facing Louis once again. "Yeah. Why not? You're, dare I say it, lonely, and I meant it. Liam is perfect for you. And he seems to like you too." He said motioning to Liam's reddening face when he realized they were caught staring at the trio.

"You think so?" Niall asked sounding hopeful. Louis smiled. "Well, you never know, so go talk to him!" Louis motioned to them when he heard laughing. He turned around to see Tommy literally rolling on the floor and laughing, and Liam didn't look far behind. Harry was just staring as they did that looking quite proud.

"Not now, look! They look like they're having fun. Maybe later or summat." He mumbled. Louis sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, I'm giving Liam and Harry a ride. I'll see you guys back at the flat alright?" They nodded and walked the opposite direction of the car.

"All right, shall we go?" He said walking up ad interrupting their little laugh fest.

\--

Getting in the car was quite the feat. The car was small because, well, Louis was pretty small, and so was Tommy, and his car seat fir perfectly in the backseat, which now that Harry thinks about it, was there the night before when Louis took him home. How did he not notice that before?

Liam and Louis helped Harry get in the front seat since he still couldn't walk with his left leg. Once that was done with a small concussion to Harry from the roof of Louis' car, Liam squeezed in the backseat with Tommy, and helped him buckle up while Louis started the car.

"Thanks Liam."

"No problem Mr. Tomlinson."

"Louis."

"Sorry?" Liam asked.

"Please, call me Louis outside of school. It makes me feel old to be honest, but the school thinks if I let you guys call me by my first name, you'll lose respect for me or something like that. Quite dumb actually." Louis said.

"So, boys. May I ask what you were doing when Niall slammed the door into you?" Liam blushed at the mention of the Irish lad's name. He's been doing that lately. "We were running." Harry answered. Louis nodded.

"At least it was in the morning. It's healthier to run in the morning than in the afternoon. The sun could gove you a stroke or something." Louis said. "See! I told you!" Liam said. Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but that didn't mean you had to beat me with my own pillow to wake me up!" Harry accused. "Well I wouldn't have to do that if you woke up the first time!" Liam retorted.

"Boys, calm down. You're a bad influence for Tommy." Louis said smiling. The boys both looked towards Tommy who was watching with intrest to see what they were going to say next. "So Tommy, what grade are you in?" Liam asked. "I'm in pre-school, but they want to promote me to first grade!" He exclaimed. Harry looked at Louis and he noticed he look very proud. Harry's heart swelled with proudness, yet he didn't know why.

Just then they turned into Harry's driveway. "Alright, Tommy, stay in the car while I help Harry and Liam, alright?"

"Yes, daddy." He said. Louis and Liam got out going to the passengers side to help Harry. Once they succeeded with minimal damage to Harry, they walk to the front porch.

"Let me get my key." Harry says trying to stand up straight enough to find his keys. "No need, I got them." Liam said unlocking the door. "Why do you have keys to my house?" Harry asked. "Your mum gave them to me." He said. "Why?" "You know why." He said. At that Harry quieted down, and things got a little awkward.

Once Liam had the door unlocked and open, they helped Harry get to the living room. They put him down on the couch, and they only hit his injured leg twice, so that was a success for them.

"Remind me to never let you guys be paramedics." Harry groaned. "Well then, I'll have you know that anyone would be lucky to have us as their paramedic, ain't that right, Liam." Louis said. "Yeah. We would probably be the best paramedics ever." He said.

"Whatever you say…" Harry smirked.

"Thank you so much Mr. T- Louis. For the ride and for helping me with Harry." Liam said. "No problem, lads. Happy to help. Now rest up and take some pain killers, and that should help both the swelling and the pain." He said to Harry.

"Are you actually a paramedic?" He asked. Louis laughed this beautiful laugh that made Harry's heart swell with something else. "No, my mom is a nurse. So I do have some medical background." He smiled.

"Oh, all right then. Thanks again." Harry said, somehow uncomfortable to have his teacher in his living room.

"Alright then, I should go. Just rest up and you'll be good as new. Bye boys, see you on Monday." He waved and left. Liam went after him and shut the door.

Liam walked back and sat on the chair in front of Harry, lifting his leg up onto his lap. "Spill." He said. "What?" Harry asked. "What's going on between you and Louis?" he asked again.

"What makes you think there's something between us?" he asked. "Well for one, when Niall introduced you today, he put an emphasis on your name and they seemed to know who you were. And second, how did he know where you lived without us telling him?" He asked. Harry looked around the room, anywhere except Liam's eyes . Once he looked into his brown puppy dog eyes he was a goner and he would tell him everything.

"I don't know." He mumbled. "Harry, you're avoiding my eyes. Just tell me." He said softly. "He gave me a ride here yesterday." He said. "Why?" Liam asked. "It was raining and I was walking home." Harry admitted. "Why were you walking home? You never walk home. You always call me or your mum."

"I forgot my phone?" he shrugged. Liam sighed. "Of course you forgot your phone. Did you at least take your meds yesterday?" Liam asked concerned

"Liam. I'm not a fucking baby!  I can take care of myself!" Harry exclaimed exasperated. Liam sighed.

"I know… I know it's just that- God damn it Harry!" His voice cracked. Harry hated himself even more in that moment. He had managed to make Liam cry. Liam his best friend who without him he probably wouldn't be here right now.

"It's just- Harry. That day. That day that I found you- I don't want that to happen again. Harry, I love you. You are like a brother to me and I don't want to lose you. It may be selfish of me to keep you here- but after that day I-I-I- just can't lose you." Liam broke down sobbing.

Harry hugged him. Hugged him like it was their last day together, hugged him like the day Harry woke up in the hospital, and the first thing he saw was a crying Liam holding his hand and apologizing over and over again.

\--

He was done. Completely, absolutely, 100%, utterly, totally done with this.

Harry was a fuck up as long as he was concerned. He only caused pain and suffering to his loved ones. He could see it in their eyes. He was just a fucked up kid that will never amount to anything. His step-dad told him so every time he did something wrong which, lucky for him, Harry did a lot.

His dad walked out on them when he was five. He doesn't know why, and he doesn't need to know why. All he knows is that he causes his mum to cry, and he hated him because of that. Then Robin came around. He put the smile on him mum's face back, and if she was happy, then so was he.

It was around Harry's seventh birthday when Robin changed. He didn't work, at all, and his mum kept stressing over the bills. Along the way Robin had become an alcoholic, and had started to get mad at Harry for everything. His mum never noticed, too busy working three separate jobs.

Robin started treating Harry badly, calling him names when he accidentally broke a cup. "Oh my fucking God, Harry! Can't you do anything right?" When he spilled water on the couch. "Be careful, you fucking moron! Can't you drink water correctly?" And when he needed help on his math homework "Can't you do math? Are you too stupid for that too? Why don't you just leave me alone, it's clear you'll never amount to anything in life, so you better just give up on school and learn how to fuck because that's clearly the direction you're going in."

After he turned eight, he started beating him. "Pussy! That's what you are! Shut the fuck up and take it like a man! Wait, you're not a man! You’re a fucking faggoty pussy!"

One night he came home extremely drunk. Gemma was away with their grandma and his mum was working late. He came into Harry's room and turned on the lights. Harry blinked, trying to adjust to the brightness. "Mum?" He asked hopefully. "I'm not that dumb whore, faggot." Harry looked confusedly at Robin. Was he going to beat him again? He was still sore from yesterday when he threw him against the wall.

The next few minutes were a blur for Harry, but what he could remember was Robin taking off his clothes and touching him in private places. In the morning when he woke up, he couldn't even sit up because his bum hurt too much. When he got the courage to get up, he noticed his bed was covered in blood. He started panicking. He couldn't let him mum see this. She would get mad and have to wash them. He didn’t want het to do more work. So he cleaned himself up and washed his sheets himself.

This continued. Robin raping Harry whenever the fuck he wanted to, and Harry getting rid of any evidence of what had happened.

Harry started becoming more of a loner. What was once a beautiful dimpled smile was replaced by a fake dull smile that didn't reach his eyes. Nobody noticed, except for Liam who had been his best friend since they were toddlers.

Liam had noticed Harry acting strange, and he began wearing sweaters and long sleeved shirts when it wasn't even cold. Harry would miss school a few days in a row and come back looking sadder. He once noticed a bruise on his neck that looked a lot like it had bite marks. He didn't say anything because he knew Harry was self conscious.

Liam was unaware of what Robin had done. He was unaware that he was charging strangers to sleep with his 10 year old step son. He was unaware of how Harry was cutting as his was of coping. He was unaware, until one day.

It was Harry's 14th birthday. Liam had gone straight to Harry's house afterschool to give him a birthday present. He noticed Harry always wore bracelets, so he made him some matching to his own. Friendship bracelets were cliché but it was Liam, and he was just cliché in general.

He knocked on the door, waiting for Anne, Robin, Gemma, or even Harry to open, but nobody did. So he rang the doorbell, still no answer. He had been friends with Harry long enough to know where they hid the spare keys. He went down the line of potted plants, counted to the fifth one and picked it up. Sure enough there was the spare key.

He unlocked the door and it was silent. He was about to leave thinking they probably went out for Harry's birthday, but he heard a sound coming from upstairs, so he made his was up. He was clutching the box in his hand tightly, knuckles turning white. He saw that the sound was from Harry's room. He smiled, Harry was home. He walked in, ready to sing happy birthday, but what he saw next is definitely not what he was expecting.

He saw Harry, naked and covered in bruises on his bed. He almost looked dead, but his chest was rising and falling. He turned his head at Liam's gasp of surprise. His eyes widened. "Liam! What are you doing here?" He whispered. Liam was choking on air, tears in his eyes. Is this where his best friend had been the past three days? He should have known. Liam made his way to his bed, wincing as he got closer. Harry looked disheveled and corpse-like. As he got closer he realized he was tied to the bed. He made to untie him, but Harry shook his head.

"Liam, you have to get out of here. He'll be back any second!" Harry whispered. "No. I'm not leaving without you. You're hurt." Liam stated back, trying to loosen his left wrist. He noticed it was covered in angry red marks and scars going up his fore arm. He notices his other arm looked the same. Just then the front door opened, and you could hear multiple voices of men. "Liam, hide! Go in my closet and stay there!" Harry exclaimed. Liam hesitated but did as Harry told, and hid in his closet behind all his clothes and old blankets and stuffed animals.

Just then Robin came in followed by three men. "This is him boys. What do you think?" He had said. Liam turned red with fury. Robin. He never liked Robin. He was mean to Harry and called him names. Of course he was the one behind this. Liam glared into the crack where he hadn't closed the door completely. What were they going to do to Harry?

He was just laying there, breathing. He was so calm. Why was he so relaxed? Had this happened before?

"Well, aren't you a pretty thing? Look at you." On of the man had said and touched Harry's penis. Why was he touching him there? This was illegal!

"How much?" Another man asked. "Same as last time." Robin had said. Liam wished he could go out there and beat the shit out of Robin. He could, those boxing lessons his parents put him into had paid off. "We'll take him." The third man had said. They each gave him some cash to with Robin greedily took. "He's all yours boys." He then left the room.

What happened next, will haunt Liam's thought forever. He closed his eyes, but he still heard Harry's yelps of pain and the three disgusting older men's moans. They called Harry names and Harry only took it. Once they were done they walked out and Liam heard them talking a bit with Robin.

Robin walked back upstairs and slammed open the door. "You did good. Next time don't cry you little pussy. I'm going to go out with the guys. Stay here and don't fuck everything up okay?" Robin untied one of his wrists and left. Once Liam heard the front door close, he came out of the closet and saw Harry trying to untie his other hand. Liam walked over to Harry and untied his other hand and his feet. He then helped Harry up and out of the bed and into the shower.

There he helped Harry wash up because he was too weak to do it himself. He washed his hair and helped him wash his back. Then he helped him dress. Once the sheets were once again in the washer, they sat down on Harry's bed and stared at each other. Harry breaking down first. He started mumbling through his sobs and all Liam could do was hug him. He hugged him until he calmed down and stopped speaking. Once he was reduced to sniffles, Liam asked the question.

"How long?" So Harry told him. Told him everything that has happened until now. He picked up Harry's hands and turned them so the inside of his wrists were in the open. Harry sighed and he looked like he was about to cry again. Liam reached for his pocket, taking out a small box. He opened it and took out several bracelets. He put some on each of Harry's wrists.

He looked at Liam questioningly. He pulled back the sleeves of his sweatshirt and showed him his matching one. "Happy Birthday." He whispered. Harry started crying again and hugged Liam. "Thank you. Nobody remembered except Gemma and she only called because she moved away with my grandmother." He whispered.

So now that Liam knew, he wanted Harry to tell, but he couldn't. He didn't want to because that meant his mum would be sad again. And he would take everything Robin gave him and more to make his mum happy.

Then, one day it happened. He had had another session with the three guys, and Robin had gone out. Him mum was working and he hadn't heard from Gemma in months. Coincidentally, it was his 16th birthday. It was his birthday and he was done. 100% done. He didn't want to deal with this anymore. His mum would be happier without him. He only caused trouble.

So he did the logical thing. He cut himself. He tore his skin apart, bleeding out all the pain and suffering he had gone through these past eight years. And he sighed of relief because he was finally ending it all. He found some painkillers along the bathroom cabinets and took the whole bottle not bothering to count them. Then he went to the kitchen to find a bottle of alcohol on the counter. He grabbed it and gulped it down, the alcohol burning his throat. He walked back to his room, neck of the bottle squeezed in his hand, and sat in the middle of his floor. Then he started to see everything blurry, then he was blacking out. The last thing he saw was an angel that looked a lot like Liam.

He woke up in a hospital, Liam crying apologies and his mother passed out in a chair. The first thing he thought was that he was in limbo. But then Liam had seen him and hugged him so hard. Then he started crying because he couldn’t even commit suicide right. Then Liam started crying apologies again.

"Why are you apologizing for?" Harry asked with a sniffle. "For being the worst best friend ever." Harry couldn't believe it. He was the one committing suicide and Liam's the one apologizing. He looked at Liam. Really looked at Liam. His usually bright puppy dog brown eyes were red and tired. He had bags under his eyes and looked like a walking ghost. His mum wasn't much better but at least she was sleeping.

"Liam. Please. Sleep, for me." He asked. Liam chuckled. "One condition. Never do that again. You know I love you, right. And you can't get rid of me that easily. If you had died, I would have killed myself and kicked your ass in heaven because we are a package deal alright?" He said. And he fell asleep. Right next to Harry on his hospital bed.

After that his mum woke up and cried. Then these cops came in the room, and no one knew why they were there until Liam woke up. Then he told Harry he needed to tell. So he did. And he cried and his mum cried and Gemma cried as soon as she got in the hospital room and heard Harry's story, and Liam was there the whole time.

Robin was put on trial and found guilty of physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse to a minor, and so were the other guys that he got the money from. They all got sentenced for who cares how many years. What’s important is they were away from the Styles's.

Now, two years later, they are stronger than ever. Anne has gotten a good job, and she earns good money. Gemma is off at UNI. And they have moved houses, away from the old one that has too many bad memories. It’s all better for Liam, because he is only three houses away. And as much as Harry says he annoys him, he loves it when Liam comes over.

\--

"You never answered my question, do you have any feelings for Louis?" Liam asked. "Well, he's pretty fit, but I doubt he has any feelings for me. It doesn't even matter that he's gay, he'll never see me that way."

"Wait, he's gay?" Liam asked. Harry nodded. "How do you know?"

"When he took me home Niall called and he kind of said it out loud unaware that I was in the car with him." He said. "Why, did you think he was gay?" Harry asked. Liam shrugged. "I just, kind of figured he was straight cause he had a kid, but I always had a feeling he was gay cause he was vary flamboyant and his fashion sense in- unique."

"That's stereotyping, though. I'm not like that." Harry said. "Well, yeah. But you just keep to yourself most of the time and I had to drill it out of you when you finally told me."

"Well, it's not like I'll  have a boyfriend to prove it anytime soon…" Harry trailed off.

Liam sighed and went to go fix them both a tea. Harry was starting to develop feelings for his drama teacher, and he bets that Louis too. Now Liam is usually the goody goody student,  but for the sake of his best friend he's willing to break rules.

\--

Harry and Liam had always been two puzzle pieces that fit together, but they were on the wrong side of the puzzle. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Next chapter will have Louis' background)


End file.
